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#1
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a newbie with a question....
My sister and I are new orchid addicts (wonderful addiction). I gave her a
blooming moth orchid in Sept 2004 and the plant blossoms continuously (it is still in full flower). None of our other orchids do this. We call it the "special orchid." Is this a common phenomenon? Thanks in advance. I'm happy to be here in orchid heaven. Gail |
#2
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Gail,
Moth orchids (otherwise known as Phalaenopsis, or Phals for short) will do that. Not always, and not even most of the time, but often enough. I've got a Phal that has been in bloom since early August, and is still blooming, and I have heard of ones that have been in bloom for over a year. My mother-in-law has a Phal that is almost never out of bloom for long -- it seems like it will either start a new spike or continue growing an existing one, whenever it's prior flowers have wilted. One thing to watch out for with a Phal that is continuously in bloom for a long time: Be sure that the plant remains healthy. Blooming takes energy, and some Phals may bloom themselves to death if you don't observe the health of the plant (leaves and roots). Do its leaves continue to look healthy? Has it grown a new leaf at all during this amount of time? If it has lost more than one leaf without growing a new one, that would be an alert that it's not well. Usually if the leaves look healthy, the roots are likely ok, unless the plant wobbles in the pot as if it did not have enough root system to sustain it. If the leaves start to look unhealthy, it is a good idea to cut off a flowering spike all the way at the bottom to allow the plant to concentrate on its leaf and root growth. Repotting in such a situation to look at the health of the roots and trim away rotten ones would also be a good idea. However, as long as a Phal looks healthy, there is no reason to not let it continue blooming for as long as it is willing to do so, especially if it is also growing new leaves occasionally (every few months). Hope this helps. Enjoy your Phal! And welcome to this group. Joanna "Gail" wrote in message ink.net... My sister and I are new orchid addicts (wonderful addiction). I gave her a blooming moth orchid in Sept 2004 and the plant blossoms continuously (it is still in full flower). None of our other orchids do this. We call it the "special orchid." Is this a common phenomenon? Thanks in advance. I'm happy to be here in orchid heaven. Gail |
#3
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Thank you, Joanna. All of your info was very welcome!!
Gail "J Fortuna" wrote in message news:AAS7e.15308$H_5.6984@trnddc01... Gail, Moth orchids (otherwise known as Phalaenopsis, or Phals for short) will do that. Not always, and not even most of the time, but often enough. I've got a Phal that has been in bloom since early August, and is still blooming, and I have heard of ones that have been in bloom for over a year. My mother-in-law has a Phal that is almost never out of bloom for long -- it seems like it will either start a new spike or continue growing an existing one, whenever it's prior flowers have wilted. One thing to watch out for with a Phal that is continuously in bloom for a long time: Be sure that the plant remains healthy. Blooming takes energy, and some Phals may bloom themselves to death if you don't observe the health of the plant (leaves and roots). Do its leaves continue to look healthy? Has it grown a new leaf at all during this amount of time? If it has lost more than one leaf without growing a new one, that would be an alert that it's not well. Usually if the leaves look healthy, the roots are likely ok, unless the plant wobbles in the pot as if it did not have enough root system to sustain it. If the leaves start to look unhealthy, it is a good idea to cut off a flowering spike all the way at the bottom to allow the plant to concentrate on its leaf and root growth. Repotting in such a situation to look at the health of the roots and trim away rotten ones would also be a good idea. However, as long as a Phal looks healthy, there is no reason to not let it continue blooming for as long as it is willing to do so, especially if it is also growing new leaves occasionally (every few months). Hope this helps. Enjoy your Phal! And welcome to this group. Joanna "Gail" wrote in message ink.net... My sister and I are new orchid addicts (wonderful addiction). I gave her a blooming moth orchid in Sept 2004 and the plant blossoms continuously (it is still in full flower). None of our other orchids do this. We call it the "special orchid." Is this a common phenomenon? Thanks in advance. I'm happy to be here in orchid heaven. Gail |
#4
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On Fri, 15 Apr 2005 17:35:33 GMT, "Gail"
wrote: Thank you, Joanna. All of your info was very welcome!! Gail As Joanna said... Be careful. I have a beautiful white Phal. that boomed for 18 months and died. I was not paying attention. It had not grown a new leaf in 18 months. I assume that you know to keep the crown (center point) dry. You would not have a lovely plant for this time if it had gotten wet. But you can get a damp rot in the crown (crown rot) if water sits there. That will kill the growth point and the plant if not cured. Welcome to RGO. Try to join us on ABPO alt.binaries.pictures.orchids to share pix of your plant and to see what others have in bloom. I am sure by now you have read the "do not post pix to this newsgroup" note. This is chat only the other is pix. Most of us read both groups so you will often see a reference that "my pix is posted on ABPO" SuE http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php |
#5
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Phals are notoriously long-lasting. But Paphs, and even mature Dendrobiums,
can rival them in flower longevity. A couple of our largest Dens are generally in bloom roughly 11 months out of the year. And the others have other charms .... And at the risk of sounding repetitive, I second (or "third" or "fourth") the warnings about allowing Phals to bloom themselves to death. One thing that can help is truly _religious_ feeding, if you are going to let a Phal go beyond its primary inforescences for the season. It takes energy to produce those flowers ... -- Kenni Judd Juno Beach Orchids http://www.jborchids.com "Gail" wrote in message ink.net... My sister and I are new orchid addicts (wonderful addiction). I gave her a blooming moth orchid in Sept 2004 and the plant blossoms continuously (it is still in full flower). None of our other orchids do this. We call it the "special orchid." Is this a common phenomenon? Thanks in advance. I'm happy to be here in orchid heaven. Gail |
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